Will Jesus find faithfulness when He returns?

"When the Son of Man returns will He find people on earth who have faith? (LUKE 18:8)

Who needs to tap into faith more that a desperate widow?

Widows were and still are in many cultures forgotten or ignored simply because their need is great. In some cultures, women are treated as property. The culture is set up to honor the men and when the man is gone, the one whom the woman depended upon is no longer there to care for her. In some cultures, even today the property and even the children could be taken by the husband's family leaving the widow even in greater destitution. 

I love how Jesus used the persistent widow as an illustration of persistent prayer.

He wanted the disciples and yes, us, too, to understand that if an evil judge in his frustration would answer a widow in her persistent petitions how much more so for the loving Father who sees, knows, and hears. 

He is present.

He will answer.

This question caused me to ask, "So, what does faithfulness look like based on this story alone?" Oh my! If we could just honor this one parable.

Faithfulness is always in a conversation with God.

It is relentless. 

It is enduring.

It is honest.

Faithfulness trusts that God sees.

Faithfulness knows God hears.

Faithfulness knows God answers.

Faithfulness serves out of peace, love, and hope.

Faithfulness is confident assurance your need will be met.

Faithfulness is persistent to the point that it knows no season. It just IS!

The contrast to faithfulness is showing no respect to God. 

It is evil. 

The contrast to faithfulness is showing no respect to others and their needs.

What you do to the least of these, so you also do to me (Matthew 25:40).

The contrast to faithfulness is serving others out of frustration.

Not a want to, but a I have to so I can get what I want.

The contrast to faithfulness is serving others out of fear.

It asks, "How might they harm me if I don't give them what they want?" Rather than asking, "how can I bless to be a blessing?"

Have you ever been frustrated with a persistent request? Have you ever answered and given in because of fear or frustration?  

Yeah, me, too. Ugh. 

God wants us to live in holy expectation through a holy conversation while serving out of peace, love, and hope. 

It sounds so noble. I know you might be thinking, "Yeah, well, you may think you are so perfect and get it."  

Actually, not at all. None of us do. That is the whole point. God does not expect perfection from us, but a persistent pursuit of Him so that He can work in us and through us. Not to perfection, but into a relationship that is full of peace, love, and hope so we can know Him and trust Him as He is in the process of growing us.

He wants us to understand He has not forgotten us or our needs. He desires to be with us through them. 

So, let's talk to Him. 

Always praying. 

Always trusting Him.

Knowing He sees.

He hears.

He answers.

Father, please help us to be faithful! We love You! We seek You today! We give You praise for always being present, always seeing, always hearing, and always answering. Make is persistent in seeking You in all things for Your glory in us and through us! 

It is important to be in the Word, to be with Jesus, to be transformed! 

Shalom! Shalom!

A Lesson Learned from Tabitha's Generosity (Acts 9:36-43)

I struggle with today's widow story because I know that it will bring up questions I feel ill equipped enough to answer. The story of Peter raising Tabitha (also known as Dorcas) from the dead can be quite interesting to discuss cross-culturally (Acts 9:36-43).

As I honestly paused to let her story dig deep into me today, God has allowed me to see something. 

I simply thought, "God, what is the purpose of Tabitha's story?"  So often when it is taught the focus is on the miracle. Don't get me wrong. I love the miracle and I believe in God doing miracles today. But, God's stories are always more. 

Then I saw it. MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED. 

Tabitha's life story demonstrated her focus was on kingdom mindedness. She worked hard to bless the poor and needy. She sewed coats and clothes to give away. She used her talents to bless others. The widows grieved her presence. Why? I imagine it was because they saw good in her and knew the reality of it based on how they were showing Peter the clothes she made. She built up her community.

But, I needed to go to the original language to see if I was on the right track. Oh my!  God does so bless me.

In Bible Hub, the Topical Lexico states that this story reveals the kingdom priorities unfolding the mission of the church. There are 13 other occurrences for alms or giving to the poor in scripture. This word never occurs without prayer, worship, or the gospel attached to its story.

Let's consider this for a moment. Generosity found in giving to the poor always has these three attached to it.

Prayer... talking to God and seeking His wise counsel in our giving.

Worship... giving God praise and thanksgiving for who He is. We give because He first gave to us.

Gospel... the good news that God sent Jesus to all people. Generosity is a character trait of God so it opens doors for God's story to be seen and heard. 

Since, this story brings focus on the miraculous that Peter raised the dead. It astounds us, but the reality is this is not my daily norm. It isn't the norm and that is part of its beauty. Miracles should not be normal.  So, I need to focus on what principles in this story will affect my daily norm to build the kingdom? I will always watch for God's miraculous blessings, but I need to focus on my daily living.

Even with the miraculous this should be our question. How does it build the kingdom of God?

What if we should look at this passage as if it encourages us to focus on the motive of our heart? Whether we look at Tabitha or Peter's actions, we observe the motive of their hearts build the kingdom of God. Both of them lived out of kingdom building.

So, if someone wants to focus on raising someone from the dead, we can ask, "What is your motive?"  

I once sat in a funeral service when my children were young and a pastor declared he was going to raise my kid's friend from the dead. The mom next to me grabbed my leg and asked, "What do we do?"  I said, "Pray!" It wasn't that either of us didn't believe that God can do anything. But, we could discern the motives were wrong. It could hurt the body of Christ. And it did. I personally had to call one of my pastors to process what happened.

Sometimes, when I ask God in my serving, "Was my motive pure?"  I honestly cannot say it has always been pure. Ugh. This is wrong. I guess this is why David prayed, "LORD search me and know me. Renew a steadfast spirit within me." 

It is so easy to work through wrong motives. I guess this is why alms giving always includes talking to God, worshipping God, and telling His story. It takes the focus off of us or I better just say it. It takes the focus off of me.

The motive of the heart is so important. Whether in grief as a widow serving or as a ministry leader serving, we need to ask, "What is the motive of my heart?  Am I kingdom focused?  How will this build the kingdom of God?  How will this give God glory? Will this cause those involved to draw closer to God?""

I love the miraculous and I love the mystery of how God moves, but it is not my role to try to manufacture it. I am to be simple and sincere in what I say and do. 

My role is to remain faithful and to have heart motive that seeks to build the kingdom of God. True transformation will reveal a heart of compassion that releases easily and moves about in rightness that is born of righteousness. Rightousness is all about being full of grace, mercy, giving, and it will have the automatic outflow of worship that cause the body of Christ to know, to grow, and worship our God.

LORD, please let our giving and serving draw others to know, to grow and to worship You. Amen.

Shalom, shalom!

Reflections on my commissioning

Today's widow story has me thinking deeply about my own story. It is a different kind of grief though. I told Greg last night that my heart just hurts with what is happening with women in ministry these days. I am not talking about debating whether a woman can be a pastor. I am simply talking about our calling to ministry. I am always caught with surprise that we must get our shackles up over such things. A tree is always known by its fruit. 

In 1995 when I graduated with my Masters degree from SWBTS, I was commissioned by a SBC Church alongside my ministry partner in starting a church plant. He was ordained. I was commissioned. It was the same service, same message, same prayers, and same people laying on hands. I say people because it was both men and women. 

I accepted the rhetoric at the time. Honestly, I didnt know enough to ask questions or I didn't have the maturity to say anything. And it really didn't matter. This SBC regional team recognized God's calling on my life. They were willing to lay hands on me because they saw the movement of God's call upon my life. They affirmed the Holy Spirit in me and set me apart for ministry.

I now know more than ever that there is great weight in laying hands on someone for the call to ministry. This means you bear the weight of both their success and failures. I have had both. 

But, there is also something so powerful about a group saying, "We believe in you. We see the Holy Spirit at work in you. We acknowledge your kingdom value as set apart. We touch you with the intent to pass blessing upon you. We endorse what God is doing and give you the authority to do it. May the Holy Spirit pour out in you and through you to bring unity and build up the fellowship of the saints."

When this happens there is a gift of remembrance that brings about a desire to honor and to fulfill all that has been prayed.

I have never taken lightly my call or commissioning. I work hard to live it simply and sincerely. Through the years God has convicted me over and over to not bury my talents. He has given me many and grown some that have been so unexpected. Again, I have done this well and I have done this poorly. But in it all I seek to move in the Holy Spirit's fruit.

Yet, I shall remain faithful with the talents I have been given. God did not say to me, "Tara, this talent was a gift to only be shared with half of the population." He gave me my talent to use it for His glory. I am to remain faithful to His message that He loves us so much that He sent His Son to live, die, and rise that we might have life. I am called to bear good fruit and not focus on the talent, gender, race, socio-economic status, educational status or even age.

So, I study. I teach what I learn. I open my home. I love on the one who comes. I draw and paint hoping I can tell a story well. I train so others are equipped and able to do likewise. I listen and give counsel usually based on lessons from my own stupidity, suffering, and pain. Begging all the while that I bear good fruit. I want to be an oak of righteousness and I want to grow countless forests wherever I drop seeds of faith. 

In it all, I seek to honor those I serve and partner with. I do everything I can to listen and obey if it gives God glory. I repent often. More than you want to know. But in it all I try to love fully and see each person the way God sees them. I beg for love for those I don't like. Yeah, we all struggle with humans.

I seek to live and bear fruit that can only be born by the Holy Spirit. I pray for His work in me and through me. I beg for His path because I know it will lead me straight to Jesus and set me straight. 

Most of the time I feel awkward because I am so stinking deep in my thoughts. I am more apt to make you cry than laugh. Don't believe me? Ask all the people who come to see me and they dont know why, but they start crying. Lol. It's not me really. It is God's work. He likes to break up those broken places so healing can take place. 

So, yeah, today's widow story has brought out so much in me. Here is the deal. I AM A FEMALE. I AM CALLED BY GOD TO GO MAKE DISCIPLES like the Samaritan woman who led her village to Jesus or like Phoebe who traveled around carrying Romans while reading and explaining it wherever she went. Or like Priscilla as she and her husband, Aquila, discipled Apollos.  

I seek to focus on bearing good fruit. If God should teach someone in the other half of the population through me then all I can say is "If God can use a donkey to save a man's life, He can even use me." 

I am so thankful for the church and regional group that decided to commission me as a ministry leader. And for every church and ministry since that has allowed me to partner shoulder-to-shoulder in the faith. Thank you for believing in me. 

At the moment, I am surprised by how God used the complaining Greek widow's story in Acts 6:1-7 to help me process my grief for how women in ministry are being treated. 

It is my heart cry that it awakens hope for those who might read this. If God can use me, He can use you. 

It is important to be in the Word, to be with Jesus, to be transformed, y'all! 

Shalom. Shalom.

The Wait and Worship of Widowhood (Luke 2:21-40)

Do you struggle with waiting? I know I do. If waiting is for something good, it builds excitement and hope. Well, even longing. But when our waiting takes a long time and it is happening during a time of pain or suffering it can be hard. Real hard.

I was caught this morning by something quite beautiful in the Greek word for "waiting." It is prosechomenos (4327) and if I may take the liberty to give you my summary of its many words used to describe it.

Waiting is a hospitality. Yes hospitality. A spirit of welcome while living in acceptance and endurance. 

I have really come to love the words welcome and hospitality because they truly describe God's heart for all people.

So, this morning as I studied my next story in the widow series (Luke 2:221-40), I was so excited to catch this principle as a life principle.

Most will quickly passover the story of Simeon and Anna in the temple because it is about old people and might think, "What can I learn from them?"

Before I say anything about widows, we need to know that we do not know if Simeon is a widower, but most assume he is because of the narrative cues in being paired with Anna and the similarities of their context. Either way, I would like to propose their life model is good for all of us not just widows. So look and listen.

Simeon was waiting for the promised Messiah. He had a spirit of welcome with a hospitality of acceptance and endurance that included listening to the Holy Spirit and obeying His holy nudges when it came to seeing and even holding onto the Messiah, Jesus. His willingness "to wait" gave him opportunity to "be" with the Savior of the world, our Comforter, our Prince of Peace and to know the delight of cuddling Him to his chest as he declared scripture over Him. 

Simeon's listening to the Holy Spirit and obedience to His nudging moved him into the presence of the Light of the world.

While Anna's spirit of hospitality in waiting with acceptance and endurance allowed her to see Jesus and know what it is like to be in His precious presence. She was so profoundly impacted by this moment of presence with the Prince of Peace that SHE BECAME A WITNESS TO ALL who were waiting with a spirit of welcome and endurance. 

I do hope that you catch the truth that SHE is a FEMALE WITNESSING to ALL who wait. 

We must remember that our waiting should be bathed in a spirit of welcome and hospitality. This is filled with acceptance and endurance for His presence. There are no rules here for male or female. Just wait with a spirit of welcome that is full of hospitality that lives in acceptance and endurance. Then be a faithful witness declaring what you have been in His presence and seen Him for yourself. 

I am learning so much as I study the widow stories. The principles are universal. If I abide in listening and obeying the Holy Spirit, He will guide me to Jesus and I will know peace. This I must share so all can wait with acceptance and endurance for His return.

Both Simeon and Anna were waiting and looking for the Presence of our Salvation in our Great Comforter. That is a principle I need to live by and testify about every single day. 

As for my widow(er) friends, how does this story give you hope? 

What does it show you to do as you process your grief?  

What in it makes your struggle?

How might this story help you with your struggle?

Psalm 79: Praying during a national disaster

Why would I choose a national prayer in time of disaster for a Widow Story set? 

National disasters leave behind widows and orphans. 

We need to know how to pray in the horror of an overwhelming community pain. 

I am learning more and more the older I get that it is never "us versus them", but "good versus evil."

God cares about innocent blood shed. It is safe and good to pray for God to avenge innocent blood.

Calling upon the Glory of His Name brings breakthrough.

Glory is God's weight... strength... power... authority. 

God's Name is God's identity as the One True God... His reputation... His uniqueness from all other little gods. 

He can handle the real, the raw, and honest talk of pain. Go ahead and release it. 

He loves to move for the ones seeking to honor His Glory and Name!

Psalm 13: Prayer Turns Depression to Delight

When Greg and I were in a season that lasted four and half years of loss and grief because of numerous circumstances surrounding us like floods, mom's cancer, several family members dying, company collapse to name a few. I felt like I had forgotten how to praise God.  

So, I set about to study the praise songs of the Bible. I realized that the Psalmists were so real with God. They stated their pain and then they moved to praise and thanksgiving. At the time, I did not know I was learning how to lament. It wasn't a thing back then or if it was no one showed me.

I will use this strategy or process in the Widow's series. We will have a few select Psalms and look at how the Psalmist processed pain and suffering. We will observe their pattern from pain/grief to praise and Thanksgiving.

This simple process is what helped me move from despair to joy. It also radically changed my prayer life. 

This is what I learned from Psalm 13 (TPT). 

David was real, raw, and used honest talk with God. 

He wasn't afraid to ask God questions that could not be answered. 

He told God what He wanted Him to do like "look at me" and "answer me". 

He asked for deliverance and shared His fears.

THEN...

He ends with trust, joy in dance, songs of praise and thanksgiving.

 

Why?  

He knows God sees. 

God hears.

God answers. 

God is His Savior. 

So, David chose not to listen to his enemies! 

Our enemies can be mental, emotional, social, physical, and spiritual.

Using this process with a specific pain through prayer heals us. It settles us and lifts our countenance. 

If you are a widow and are willing to take Psalm 13 and write it out as a prayer, I know it will comfort you. If you are at a place where you are willing to share it so I can use it please message me privately at tara.rye@audioscripture.org.

You are chosen to be "a word"

My dear friend Hensel and I are studying the book of Ephesians together. We were blown away by this old truth, but a new truth to us as of yesterday. 

"He chose us in Him before the creation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4/NIV).

"And in love He chose us before He laid the foundation of the universe!" (Ephesians 1:4/TPT).

Hensel said, "Tara, my Bible has a foot note that says "chose is the Greek word "eklegomai" which is a form of "word" (lego in Greek which means speak).

I cannot begin to tell you how excited I got.

Immediately, I thought of "logos" which is Greek for "the Word" and we know Jesus is called the Word in John 1.  

I then thought of the Hebrew word "davar" or "debar" which implies we must speak, write, illustrate and experience the Word when we engage the Word. 

Then I remembered that Hensel said, "I love that Ephesians has so many "in Christ" moments." So, we decided we will mark all of them. 

The TPT footnote says, "He chose us to be a "word" before the fall of the world." (TPT, pg. 515).

We are called in Christ to be "a word". Not just any word, but a spoken, written, illustrated word that is experienced so that the world will know Him. As we are in Him, we are the living Word of God being made known. The fall broke this. But in Christ we are restored.

We both sat in awe, as we were in the Word. In our hour, we were only able to cover 6 verses of the chapter we were looking at.

We toggled between the TPT and NIV so we could catch the poetry insight along with opportunity for study. Look at how many insights we gathered about God and Jesus in only six verses. The more we saw Him the more we fell in love with Him. It is what enables us to be "in Christ" and become one of His living "words" speaking, writing, illustrating, and experiencing His truth. 

So, I had to go look this up to see if I was on the right track. I was blown away by the connections. Go read more details through this article on this word. I was blown away by their emphasis as well on "togetherness". I think it was their way of showing how "in Christ" is revealed through this word being active in us. 

Seriously, I am blown away "in Christ" by His Word. 

I am also thankful for my ministry partner and friend that is like minded and loves dig as deep as I do and gets as she lives it. I just wish she didnt live over 6,000 miles away. 

https://www.abarim-publications.com/DictionaryG/l/l-e-g-om.html